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No bidders for Delhi, Mumbai circles in 2G auctions: DoT

NEW DELHI, Nov 12, 2012 (Mint - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
There were no bidders for spectrum in the 1800Mhz auction for major circles, including Delhi, Mumbai, Karnataka and Rajasthan, according to department of telecommunications (DoT) officials. Operators, however, bid for airwaves in Uttar Pradesh East and West Bengal circles.

The government is looking to sell eight blocks of 1.25mhz each for a total of 10MHz in all service areas with a provision of up to three additional blocks (3.75mhz total) as top-up for the new operators that need a minimum of four blocks to start operations. There are, however, no top-up blocks in Delhi and Mumbai circles.

DoT officials said the third round of auctions has completed and the fourth round has started.

Bharti Airtel Ltd, Vodafone India Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd are among five companies that are participating in the much-awaited auction for spectrum in the 1800Mhz band, according to department of telecommunications (DoT) officials.

The auction that started on Monday has seen muted demand from mobile phone operators. The other companies participating in the auction are Videocon Mobile and Telenor (Telewings Communications Pvt. Ltd).

Auction of spectrum in the 800Mhz band that was expected to start after the current one ends was cancelled as the two operators that had initially planned to participate withdrew their applications.

The cancellation of the 800 Mhz CDMA spectrum auction may lead to a decline in revenue for the government by about Rs.10,000 crore.